2 Men Shot Dead On Front Steps In Pilsen

CHICAGO (CBS) — Two men were shot and killed early Monday on the western edge of the Pilsen neighborhood.

Around 12:40 a.m. Monday, the men, ages 26 and 27, were sitting on the front steps of a house in the 2200 block of South Leavitt Street eating tacos, when two other men walked up on foot and asked them about buying marijuana.

Afterward, they shot the men eating the tacos, police said.

Alejandro Munoz, 26, of the 2300 block of South Oakley Avenue, was shot in the head and was dead on the scene, authorities said.

Esteban Alvaraz, 27, was shot in the abdomen. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he later died, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Area Central detectives are investigating. Police said it appears the shooting was gang-related.

But Munoz’s sister-in-law, Valerie, who did not want to give her last name, disputed the claim.

“They were not gang members,” she said. “They would get together and have a couple of drinks.”

Munoz was “an outgoing father” to his three young children ages 3, 7, and 10, she said. She would like him to be remembered as a stay-at-home dad who coached his children’s baseball and soccer neighborhood leagues.